"Voyage 34" is a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...

. Although it was originally thought to be a song for the album Up the Downstair

Up the Downstair

Up the Downstair is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 1993. It was originally intended to be a double album set including the song "Voyage 34", which was instead released as a single in 1992, and other material that ended up on the...

, making it a double album, this idea was later rejected so it was released separately.

The single consists of just one song divided in two phases, clocking in at 30 minutes, where a narrator's voice describes the LSD

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

 trip of a young man called Brian in real time. It also features testimonies provided by other people supposed to be LSD

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

 habitué consumers. This was the first song of the band to explore the ground of trance music

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

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Voyage 34 was reissued on November 1993 accompanied by a remix EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 called Voyage 34: Remixes

Voyage 34: Remixes

"Voyage 34: Remixes" is an EP by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released just a year after Voyage 34. The album contains two remixes of the track "Voyage 34 " from Voyage 34, one by British electronic music group Astralasia and the other by Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri.Voyage...

, which contained two reworked versions of the song, one of them being remixed by Astralasia and the other by Steven Wilson

Steven Wilson

Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...

 himself together with Richard Barbieri

Richard Barbieri

Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...

.

Voyage 34 and Voyage 34: Remixes, were compiled in an album titled Voyage 34: The Complete Trip

Voyage 34: The Complete Trip

Voyage 34: The Complete Trip is a compilation album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was originally released as a limited set of two 12" singles, Voyage 34 in 1992, and Voyage 34: Remixes , in 1993. The remastered edition entitled Voyage 34: The Complete Trip featuring all the...

issued on 2000. The song "Voyage 34 (Phase 1 and 2) was split in two individual tracks.

According to Steven Wilson in the liner notes for Up the Downstair, "Voyage 34" is the second longest single ever released in the UK, after "Blue Room" by The Orb

The Orb

Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...

.

The song samples an ambient noise break from "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" by Van der Graaf Generator

Van der Graaf Generator

Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...

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